Meet the new Tampa Bay Ray: Joe Nelson

December 27, 2:29 AMTampa Bay Rays ExaminerRob Quinn

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Nelson brings heart to the Rays' pen. 

When you look up "journeyman" in the baseball dictionary, chances are Joe Nelson will have his picture and bio right there. When Nelson gets into a game for the Rays in 2009, it will mark the first time in the 34-year old’s career that he has pitched a major league game in consecutive seasons. This is a guy who has been released four times by different teams in his career, spent time with seven different organizations, suffered through countless injuries including Tommy John surgery, and has about the most forgettable name a ballplayer could ask for. It’s no wonder that, even though this is Nelson’s second stint in the Tampa Bay organization, most Rays fans had no idea who he was until he was signed to a one-year contract on Christmas Eve.

That is all fine with Nelson, though. He is just ecstatic to be in the state of Florida with his family, pitching for a contender. It is really unbelievable what this guy has overcome to get himself to where he is.

Nelson started his career in the Atlanta Braves organization as a starter in 1996. He was converted to a relief pitcher in 1998 and finally made his debut with the Braves at age 26 in 2001. He debuted in mop-up time in an interleague game against the Blue Jays on June 13. It took him until his SEVENTH batter to record his first big-league out – and that was on a sacrifice fly by future Devil Ray Jose Cruz, Jr. Nelson wouldn’t get into a game again until six days later against the Marlins, and he gave up a grand slam to another future Ray, Cliff Floyd. After that game, Nelson was demoted and ended up being released by the Braves in 2002 without making it back to the majors.

Nelson wound up carrying a 36.00 career ERA around with him for three years until he got a shot with the curse-breaking 2004 Red Sox. As a 29-year old with two games of major-league experience, Nelson didn’t last long. He pitched a scoreless ninth to seal a 14-6 victory against Texas on July 10 at Fenway, but then got lit up by the Angels and Mariners in his next two appearances. Nelson spent the rest of 2005 in the minors and was granted free agency by the Red Sox at the end of the season.

So where does that leave Nelson? It leaves him 30 years old, with five career major league games and an ERA of 25.07. That is probably about where most people give up. Not this guy.

The Mets signed him in January of ’05 and released him before the season started. Then Tampa Bay signed him in April and he was in Durham for three months before being released in July. The Cardinals signed him a week later and he pitched in AA the rest of the season. He became a free agent yet again in the fall of ’05. Now it’s time to throw in the towel and retire, right? Nope.

The Kansas City Royals actually took a chance on Nelson that off-season and he unexpectedly ended up back in the majors in 2006. At this point, he’s 31 and still lugging around that 25.07 ERA of his. Nelson was able to pitch quite effectively for the Royals though and had a 1.11 ERA on August 4. Then things went severely downhill for Nelson due to yet another injury – this time a shoulder which he pitched with until the end of the season – winding up with an ERA of 4.43. That same injury would eventually require two surgeries and sideline him for the entire 2007 season. Enough is enough, right? No, Nelson came back for more, this time with the Marlins.

Nelson somehow made it back to full strength and pitched the best ball of his career in 2008 for Florida. Righties couldn’t hit him, lefties couldn’t hit him, and at age 33 he was the best relief pitcher on the team. He finished up the season with a 2.00 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 54 innings. Righties hit .189 off him and lefties managed only .227. How did the Marlins reward him for an outstanding season? By low-balling him in a way only the Marlins are capable of with a ridiculous $650,000 offer for 2009.

Nelson gave them a quick "No, thank you" and hit the open market. The Rays signed him for double the Marlins’ offer and if he produces a season anywhere close to his 2008 campaign, that will be a bargain.

One thing is certain: Nelson’s work ethic will never be in question.

As always, comments are appreciated and you can e-mail me at raysexaminer@live.com